Morocco’s Interior Ministry said voter turnout in Morocco’s legislative elections reached 21% as of 3 p.m. today.
The Interior Ministry said voting to elect members of the House of Representatives is continuing across the country.
The ministry confirmed the voting process is taking place under normal conditions.
Reports emphasized a large turnout at polling stations across the country.
The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Morocco’s parliament, with 395 seats elected by citizens for five-year terms. The role of the chamber is to share legislative power with the upper house, or the House of Councillors, voting on bills and the budget and overseeing government actions.
King Mohammed VI appoints the Head of Government from the political party that wins the largest number of seats in the House of Representatives.
Moroccans aged 18 and older who are registered on the electoral rolls cast a ballot from the morning, with the vote wrapping up at 7 p.m. tonight.
The vote will decide who will form a new government, which is currently held by a coalition formed by the National Rally of Independents (RNI), the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), and the Istiqlal Party.
While many see the same parties taking the lead in these elections, others believe a surprise is possible.
Some suggest the PJD could make a breakthrough in this year’s elections.
The Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) released an analysis this week on the elections, suggesting that PJD could secure 40 to 50 seats, crediting the shift to Abdelilah Benkirane’s strategy, which focuses on anti-corruption and the Palestinian cause.
In the 2021 elections, PJD secured only 13 seats, which many interpret as a failure for the party.
This came after PJD’s leadership in the 2011 and 2016 elections, when it secured over 100 seats.
